Mohammed Fahir Amaaz told jurors today that he believed police officers were attacking him and his brother during the violent confrontation at Manchester Airport and said he acted in self-defence throughout the incident.
Giving evidence at Liverpool Crown Court, the 21-year-old said he had gone to the airport with his brother, Muhammad Amaad, to pick up their mother on 23 July 2024, when events escalated from an earlier confrontation in Starbucks to the pay station incident at Terminal 2.
Amaaz said his mother became distressed after telling him a man on the flight had been racially abusive towards her, allegedly calling her a “P*** b***h”. He told the jury that after she pointed the man out, he approached him wanting an apology and not a fight.
He said he addressed the man calmly and asked him to apologise, but claimed the confrontation escalated when the man became aggressive and threatened him.
Amaaz told the court he headbutted the man because he believed he was about to be attacked.
“I just needed to get this man away from me because he was threatening to kill me,” he said.
The jury then heard Amaaz describe the later confrontation at the pay station, where he said he was grabbed without warning and did not initially realise it was police.
He said nothing was said to him before force was used and that he tensed up naturally because he did not know who had seized him.
Amaaz said that once the struggle began, he feared officers were trying to beat him and his brother.
“I just saw two police officers smashing his face,” he told jurors, referring to his brother.
He said he kicked out because he believed he needed to protect Muhammad Amaad, who he said was being punched by officers.
Amaaz also described striking at officers because he believed he himself was under attack.
He said he punched PC Lydia Ward after thinking another officer was coming towards him to assault him, telling the jury that he acted because he was frightened and felt trapped.
Asked whether he was acting in self-defence, he said yes.
The court also heard Amaaz describe the moment he saw PC Zachary Marsden holding what he believed was a gun in a “shooting stance” aimed at his brother.
He said he thought his brother was “about to be shot” and struck the officer because he believed he had to stop him pulling the trigger.
Jurors heard that the object was in fact a Taser, but Amaaz said he did not know that at the time.
He also denied suggestions that he was trying to get up from the floor or grab PC Marsden’s radio after being taken down, and said he was instead terrified and disoriented.
Amaaz told the court that after being kicked in the face he thought he was dying.
“When I looked up towards my right I could see a boot coming straight towards my face,” he said.
He said the kick hit his nose, eyes and side of the head, briefly knocking him unconscious, and denied the prosecution suggestion that he had been trying to rise from the floor at that stage.
Earlier in the day, the court heard agreed evidence about injuries sustained by officers and by Amaaz himself, including abrasions, Taser barb marks and later hospital visits. Jurors were also told Amaaz had no previous convictions before the convictions arising from the Starbucks and airport assaults, while his brother had no previous convictions.
Amaaz also told the jury he had family connections to Greater Manchester Police, including a brother currently serving as an officer and several other relatives who had worked for the force. He said he had “nothing but respect” for the police and denied holding any hostility towards them.
The prosecution case concluded before Amaaz entered the witness box.
The trial has now been adjourned for the day. Jurors will not sit on Wednesday and are due to return on Thursday at 11am.